Montreal calls for proposals for social and affordable housing units at former bus station site

The City of Montreal has put out a call for proposals today to build social and affordable housing units on the site of the former bus station between Berri and St-Hubert streets, and de Maisonneuve boulevard and Ontario Street. The 700 units will be located in a new 23-storey building.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante called the project “a win-win,” given that the centrally located property is being offered “at a fraction of the price, with profitable and responsible terms.”

“We are giving ourselves the means to ensure that it is built quickly and efficiently. The city purchased the land and we made sure to set up a call for tenders so that it aroused strong interest from the market.”

L’appel à projets pour construire des logements sociaux et abordables dans l’Îlot Voyageur est maintenant lancé!

On se donne les moyens pour que ça se construise de façon rapide et efficace. La Ville a acheté le terrain et on s’est assuré de monter un appel d’offres pour qu’il… pic.twitter.com/CvQ5GADpl8
— Valérie Plante (@Val_Plante) March 25, 2024

Plante previously stated that the goal is for work to begin at the site in the summer of 2025. Plante announced the project in the context of the “the housing crisis raging throughout Quebec.”

“We are using all the means at our disposal to create affordable housing in Montreal. We intend to increase the number of such actions, which allow us to maintain the affordability of living in the city.

“This project will offer more social diversity to the sector and more affordable housing in Montreal. We can’t wait to see it get off the ground.”

Nous espérons que, dès l’été 2025, les travaux pour transformer l’Îlot Voyageur et le quartier soient lancés. Ce projet offrira plus de mixité sociale au secteur et plus de logements abordables à Montréal. Nous sommes impatients de le voir sortir de terre. #polmtl
— Valérie Plante (@Val_Plante) January 12, 2024

Montreal wants 700 affordable housing units built at former bus station site

Îlot Voyageur, which is currently occupied by an apartment building on the north end and a building that will be demolished on the south end, was the site of a scandalous unfinished UQAM real estate development project in the 2000s, which cost $300-million in public funds. The land was bought from the Quebec government by the city for $18-million in 2018.

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